Ughan Cave

Uğan Cave — a cave in the territory of Oghuz district of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

It is a natural cave formed under huge rocks at the entrance of Baş Daşağıl village, on the west side of the Ulu River. In ancient Turkic peoples it was worshipped as a sacred, great mountain‑rock totem. Uğan Cave is considered one of the first shelters of primitive people. There are many legends associated with it.

Etymology

Two explanations are given for the toponym. "Uğ" is the basic colour of the white sun. It represents the sun. It denotes height. According to another possibility, "uğultu" is a continuous sound that reaches the ear, and "an" is a plural suffix. Uğan means a high, sacred place, a cave. The name of Uğan Cave, located in the area of Baş Daşağıl village and belonging to the ancient Turkic world, is also among toponyms that generate serious scientific interest. Azerbaijan’s prominent linguist Mirəli Seyidov, in his work "Sources of Azerbaijan’s Mythical Thought", based on a number of sources, tried to clarify the meaning of the word "uğan". The author pays special attention to the translation of the explanation of the word "uğan" in the famous lexicographer Tali İmani’s "Bəday əl‑luğət": “Uğan” is read with “u”. This is the part of the prayer recited with supplication. When the commentary on the verse “Əl əllanə adəməl əsma” is reported in the Lütfi’s divan, the great name of the Lord (God) who guides is called “Uğan”. As seen from the explanation of Tali İmani, who lived in the 15th century, both the supplicatory part of the prayer and the sacred (the guide, God) were called “uğan”. According to Mirəli Seyidov, “uğan” referred to the song, prayer, or words spoken during a rite dedicated to this or another totem, deity. In some Turkic‑speaking peoples “uğan/oğan” is the name of the god of peace.

Russian researcher A.K. Borovkov translated the word "uğan" in Tali İman's work as "god". Researcher Pava-de-Kurteyl, in his work published in Paris in 1870, interpreted the expression "uğan" as "god" in Fatali Shah Qajar's "Kitabi-lüğəti-ətrakiyə". The prominent researcher of ancient Turkic monuments Radlov noted that the word "uğan" is of Uyghur and Chagatai origin and was used in the meaning "god". Mirəli Seyidov reports that the word "uğan" is used in the meaning "god" in Yusif Balasaqunlun's 11th‑century work "Kutadqu bilik", in the 13th‑14th‑century work of Kharezmi "Məhəbbətnamə", and in Qutb's "Xosrov və Şirin". Turkologist A. Zayonçikovski also translated the word "uğan" as "god" while compiling the dictionary of the words in the above‑mentioned work of Qutb. P.M. Melioranski, in his 1900 publication in St. Petersburg "Arabskiy filoloq o turetskom yazıke", showed that the word "uğan" found in the 14th‑century author Ibn Mühənnan's works is also used in the meaning "god". However, later the word "uğan" in Turkic languages lost its original meaning and gradually became one of the attributes or qualities of a god. For example, in Mahmud Kaşgari the word "uğan" means "strong", "powerful", "capable".

When preparing the work "Məhəbbətnamə" by Xarəzmi for publication, Ə.N.Nəcib translated the word "uğan" as "like an Almighty God". Another researcher, Süleyman Əfəndi Buxari, also explained the expression "uğan" in the sense of "owner, descendent, god, deity, lord". Mirəli Seyidov shows that the word "uğan" consists of the components "u" + "qan" and states that "u" is a verb root meaning "skillful, capable" in ancient Turkic languages. "Qan" is the old form of the word "xan". "U" + "qan" means "skillful, capable khan". Since the ancient people considered a strong, powerful khan to be capable of everything, later the word acquired the meaning of god through the deification of tribal and clan leaders. Mirəli Seyidov and several other researchers, besides demonstrating the phonetic and semantic proximity of the words "uğan" and "uğur", indicate that in ancient Turkic peoples these expressions were the name of the road god, and the ancient Turks called upon this god for help when setting out on a journey. Considering that the Uğan cave near the village of Baş Daşağıl is located beside one of the most dangerous northern border routes leading from ancient times into the Turkic world, we see that there are many more thought‑provoking points in the above discussed considerations.

A number of researchers associate the Turkic tribal word “onqon” with “uğan” (God). Mirəli Seyidov, I.N. Berezin, D.K. Zelenin, I. Əbdülqadir note that the onqon and “uğan” expressions have the same root, stating that in ancient times Oghuz tribes worshipped certain real or legendary animals and birds. According to V.V. Bartold, members of the tribe did not touch these beings they considered sacred and did not eat their meat. Such totems were called onqon or uğun (uğan). As noted in the work “Mythological Dictionary” published in Moscow in 1990, based on ancient conceptions onqons lived in dense, thick forests, caves and mountains. No one, especially women, was allowed to enter there. The location of the Uğan cave near the village of Baş Daşağıl, situated in a mountain surrounded by dense forests and under a rock, allows the conclusion that ancient inhabitants of these places regarded it as an onqon dwelling.